By now, you’ve probably heard that Rep. Paul Broun, R-Darkest Africa, introduced a bill Thursday that would require congressmen to undergo ethics training.

“Ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse for accused criminals, and it cannot be an excuse for members of Congress,” he said in a news release. “The American people expect their Representatives to play by the same rules, but in order to do so, they must first learn them. The House rules already require senior staff to complete ethics training, it only makes sense that their bosses should too.”

Broun's spokeswoman, Debbee Keller, said Broun has been working on this bill for months. But as the AJC notes, it’s no coincidence that Broun waited until after Monday, when Rep. Nathan Deal announced his resignation, to make this proposal.

Deal, who was endorsed by Broun, is under congressional investigation for ethical lapses. The investigation will cease once he resigns.

Shortly after Broun introduced his ethics bill, Deal announced that he is postponing his resignation three weeks, from today until March 30, so he can vote against health care reform. He was been coming under fire this week from conservatives who chided him for making it slightly easier for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to whip enough votes.

Team Broun said he continues to support to Deal, and Team Deal included a quote from Boss Shumba today in an e-mail to supporters.

"Congressman Deal has been a stalwart opponent of a government takeover of health care, and I am pleased that he will stay in Washington until this fight is completed," Broun said. "Georgians are fortunate to have a committed Representative that will fight to ensure their voices are heard in D.C. It has been a pleasure working with Congressman Deal, and I look forward to doing so for a few more weeks."

The e-mail also includes supportive quotes from House GOP leadership and other Georgia Republicans.

President Obama has set a new deadline of March 18 to pass the legislation, which is at least the fourth deadline he’s set, if I remember right. If Democrats miss this one, too, will Deal stick around even longer?

Deal’s release also includes this death-defying sentence: "I announced my resignation from Congress to focus on winning the Republican primary for governor so as to deny Roy Barnes the opportunity to face the Republican candidate who currently leads solely based on name recognition, but is the one Republican that Roy Barnes is sure to defeat.”

Foiling the great pains Deal’s spokesman went through to avoid mention his name, I’ll let the feral cat out of the bag: He’s talking about John Oxendine.

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